Division C: Mid-Season Report

Welcome to Week 6 of FlagPlus Football, and the Division C article.

Alright folks, we are officially at mid-way point of the season. Where did the time go? Every year no matter what division I write for, I put together a Mid-Season Report, where I look at a number of different topics, including, but not limited to what has happened so far, what to expect, QB of the Year, best undefeated team, and so on.

This year is no different, as there are a lot of storylines that will be worth watching over the second half of the season.

Without further adieu, here we go…

 

Who is the best undefeated team?

 

The Commission – The defending Division C champs, are breaking in a new Quarterback, and playing without one of their core members, in the injured Snapper/Cornerback Domenico Benevento.

Statistically, they have one the best defenses in all of Div. C, as they are one of only four teams to not give up 100 points. Their Week 4 (35-25) win over Les Montagnards, was the first time they allowed an opponent to score more than 18 points on them all season.

Offensively, Quarterback Jean-Félix Marquis, has been good, but not great so far, while trying to develop chemistry with a predominantly brand new team. One receiver who he is familiar with (the other being Alexandre Samson), is his brother Vincent Marquis. The duo has been terrific so far, as they have connected for six touchdowns.

Last week’s breakout performance versus Les Montagnards, showed a glimpse of what the offense is capable of. With the best receiver in the division in AJ Gomes, along with Julian McLaren-Thompson replacing Benevento, the speedy Samson, and the aforementioned Vincent Marquis, as long as they play smart football, the sky is the limit.

The second half of the season sees them play Jagerbomb, Blue Chips, Broccasion, Moist, and Strangers, all teams who are capable of knocking off TC, if they don’t come out firing on all cyclinders.

Jagerbomb – With Simon Duchesne, Jean-Felix Daloze, and Gabriel Moreau-Paquette among others, it’s a case of same old cast, same offensive results for a Jagerbomb offense, that averages 34 points a game.

The re-acquisition of the ever-dangerous Cédric Nuckle, has been huge for the team, and quite possibly the missing piece to an offense that was already hard to stop.

Right now, they are playing their best ball of the season, as they are coming off of back-to-back blowout wins over Keyport Lock, and Moist.

The main question that annually surrounds Jagerbomb, is about their defense. So far, this season however, that area has been a bright spot, as they have forced 15 takeaways.

The driving force behind their effort, has been Jean-Felix Daloze, who has a division-leading 7 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns, and is the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year.

The main question facing the team, is will they be able to get stops against elite teams when their backs are against the wall, especially under the bright lights of the playoffs.

With games against The Commission, and TOPSZN, over the next two weeks, and then Les Montagnards, The Alpha-T’s, and Blue Chips, to close the regular season, we will be provided with an answer as early as tonight. Stay tuned.

 

The Alpha-T’s – If championships were handed out halfway through the season, The Alpha-T’s, would already be champs. Fortunately for the rest of Division C, despite the fawning shown to TATs, by many members of the FPF media, we still have 9 weeks to go before we crown a champion.

Offensively, this team begins and ends with Quarterback Jesse Dupuis. The 4-time All-Star, leads all QBs in yards per pass, with 14.9, and sits fourth in touchdown passes with 23.

More importantly, the pivot has arguably the best chemistry among a Quarterback and his Receivers, and he uses it, along with his ability to beat teams with his legs, to pick apart opposing defenses.

Whether it be Alexis Gaumont, Mathieu Houle, Anthony Lapointe, or Marc-Antoine Vallée, the team, and their QB, make you pick your poison.
Defensively, The Alpha-T’s are just as lethal. Not only do they have players who have at least two interceptions or more, but they lead Div. C in points allowed (89), and +/- with a sparkling 96.

Despite their impressive stats, TATs, have not been all that dominant as of late. In Week 4, they needed a costly mistake by the Junkyard Dogs, to escape with a 5-point victory, and last week, they needed three conversions to get past the (2-3) Dirty Dawgs.

After this Monday night’s game versus Braves U, the schedule-makers don’t do TATs any favours, as they face Omelette You Finish, Backyard Bullies, Jagerbomb over the next three weeks, before wrapping up the regular season against a tougher than you think Lobster Dinner squad. Let’s see how the reigning Division 4A champs do.

 

Who do you think is best?

 

 

Who is the best winless team in Division C?

 

Moist – They have talent, and have played hard in just about every game so far. Despite giving Strangers, Blue Chips, and the Backyard Bullies in the first of their Week 3 contest) a run for their money, Moist, still hasn’t been able to get a check in the win column.

Part of the reason for their winless start, has been the play of Quarterback Matt Kirouac. While he is arguably the greatest Rusher in FPF history, the 2013 Hall-of-Famer’s first season as a passer, has been anything but accolade worthy.

The other reason for the poor start, is the team’s defense. While the case can be made that they are over-worked due to multiple turnovers being committed by their offense, the fact remains that the Moist defense, has only held two teams to under 30 points.

The team’s best chance at getting a win is either tonight versus Friends in Low Places, or Week 8, when they take on Lights Out.

Braves U – Simply put, their defense has been the team’s Achilles heel, as they have given up the most points of any team in Conference A, and second most in all of Division C, with 178.

Braves U, also has a Div. C worst -78 plus/minus.

On offense, the team simply struggles to score, as they have only eclipsed the 20 point mark just twice.

With 10 touchdowns in 4 games, Quarterback Leandre Ethier, has been productive, but if he and his team want to finally get a win, they simply will need him to produce more.

Furthermore, while receivers Jonathan Maheu, and Mike Pierrecin, have carried the load, with 15 receptions for 224 yards, and 7 touchdowns, and 14/190/6 respectively, no other pass-catcher on the roster has more than 8 catches, or 2 TDs.

Going forward, the best chance Braves U, has at a win is Week 7 against the Strangers, or Week 9, versus the final team on this list, in the Game Changers.

Game Changers – While Moist, and Braves U, lack a legit Quarterback, with 22 touchdown passes, and only 5 interceptions, the Game Changers’ Anton Sakiz, has actually been one of the top passers in Div. C, so far this year.

The team’s main problem however, has been their inability to win close games, as 4 out of their 5 losses have been by a touchdown or less.
One more issue that Game Changers needs to resolve, is turnovers. Out of all 22 teams in Div. C, the squad’s defense has forced a division-low 3 turnovers.

Game Changers, have a huge opportunity to turn their season around, as with the exception of the Backyard Bullies, the team faces four teams with a combined win total of 4 games, in Friends in Low Places, Braves U, Dirty Dawgs, and Broccasion.

Going into the season, if you would have told, me that all three of these teams would be winless at the halfway point, I would have said you were crazy.

Despite glaring holes, all three squads have championship experience, and game-breakers on their respective teams, which makes their combined record of (0-15), that much more surprising.

Due to their favourable remaining schedule, and the presence of a solid Quarterback on their roster, I am going with Game Changers, as my answer.

 

 

Who will win QB of the Year?

 

As of right now, the candidates are:

Jesse Dupuis (The Alpha-T’s)

Anton Sakiz (Game Changers)

Gino Di Fazio (Strangers)

Mark Belvedere (BearSkins)

Simon Duchesne (Jagerbomb)

Jake Applebaum (Mountain Lions)

Rich Humes (Backyard Bullies)

Jason Rossie (Junkyard Dogs)

Jean-Félix Marquis (The Commission)

 

The case can be made for anyone of these passers to win the award. This race will go down to the wire, as each passer is talented, brings something different to the table, and is surrounded by weapons that help them bring out the best of their abilities.

 

 

Which team do I expect to make a second half surge?

 

 

Out of all the teams who have started to turn around their season, no one has done a better job at it, than the Backyard Bullies. After starting off the campaign with an (0-2) record, the team has won three in a row.

One of the reasons for the turnaround, is the team’s offense. After struggling the first few weeks of the season, Quarterback Rich Humes, appears to have found his groove.

Over his last three games, the 3-time All-Star, has thrown for 6 touchdowns in three straight games, while completing 70% of his passes, and posting a QB rating of 127.5.

Often over-looked behind the likes of Steve Sanner, and Jordan Allard, veteran receiver Alex Moreau, has been a key to the team’s recent offensive success as well, as he has seemingly put the passing attack on his shoulders, with five touchdowns in his last three games.

The Backyard Bullies defense, has been as equally impressive as of late. After shutting out the Vikings, in the second half of their (36-14) victory, the Bullies, nearly did the same thing to the high-powered BearSkins as well, in their (38-6) win, last Monday at Stade de Montreal.

This team knows how to win, and is littered with championship experience. With upcoming games against the Dirty Dawgs, Junkyard Dogs, and The Alpha-T’s, over the next three weeks, all eyes will be on the Bullies, to see if they can keep up the winning momentum.

 

 

How many Rushers will reach double digit sacks?

 

 

Last year in Division C, we had 8 Rushers hit the double-digit mark in sacks. Marc-Antoine Vallée, and Zackary Alberts-Gill, of The Alpha-T’s, and The Commission respectively, finished the regular season with 15 and 24 sacks apiece.

In a division, that features names like Zackary Alberts-Gill, Derrick Fontana, Isiah Allard, Jeremie Lavoie-Patry, Marc-Antoine Vallée, and legendary sack masters like, Brian Eudoxie, Hinsley Adams, and Matt Kirouac, heading into the season, I assumed that there would be sacks galore this year as well. At the mid-way point of the season however, none of those dominant Rushers, has more than 4 sacks. Wow, was I wrong.

Leading the division with 8 sacks, is Cal Pienaar, of the Dirty Dawgs. Prior to this season, Pienaar’s career best is for QB takedowns in a season is 6, so we will have to see if he can keep up the pace, especially if we are to assume that the aforementioned group of Rushers, will pick it up in the second half.

 

Who has been the most disappointing team so far?

 

 

While Lights Out deserves some consideration here, it is more disappointing that they didn’t choose to start the season with a better option at Quarterback, than rookie Drew Keiller, given the firepower that the team has at receiver.

With that being said the answer to the question has to be Keyport Lock.

Fresh off of a Finals appearance in the Winter Season, and returning more or less the same team, Keyport Lock, has played like anything but championship contenders so far, as they sit with a (2-3) record.

The main culprit behind the team’s struggles, has been Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt. The 4-time All-Star, is tied for the division lead in interceptions, with 12. Over the last three games in particular, the QB has been a turnover machine, as he has thrown 10 INTs.

Despite his struggles, Rosenblatt, and his team, had a big (26-14) win over Broccasion, last week, as the QB limited his turnovers to one, while throwing three touchdowns.

Due to the win Keyport Lock, they would be in the playoffs if they started today. With remaining games against Les Montagnards, and now in possesion of the head-to-head tiebreaker with Broccasion, Keyport Lock, has a chance to turn their season around, and get off this list.

 

 

Elite 8

 

1. The Alpha-T’s (Last Week: Same)

2. The Commission (Last Week: Same)

3. Jagerbomb (Last Week: Same)

4. TOPSZN (Last Week: Same)

5. Junkyard Dogs (Last Week: Same)

6. Mountain Lions (Last Week: 8th)

7. Blue Chips (Last Week: 7th)

8. Backyard Bullies (Last Week: Not Ranked)

 

 

Picks

 

 

Blue Chips vs Strangers – Blue Chips

Moist vs Friends in Low Places – Moist (Upset Special #1)

Les Montagnards vs TOPSN – TOPSZN

The Commission vs Jagerbomb – N/A (My pick for Game of the Week)

Backyard Bullies vs Dirty Dawgs – Dirty Dawgs (Upset Special #2)

Lobster Dinner vs BearSkins – BearSkins

The Alpha-T’s vs Braves U – The Alpha-T’s

Mountain Lions vs Vikings – Mountain Lions

Game Changers vs Broccasion – Game Changers (Upset Special #3)

Junkyard Dogs vs Lights Out – Junkyard Dogs

Keyport Lock vs Omelette You Finish – Omelette You Finish

 

Last Week: 6-4

 

Season: 24-16

 

That’s it for this week. My apologizes for being a day late, I had a wedding to attend yesterday. I’ll be back next time with a more traditional article, and yes, it will be published on Saturday.

 

Congrats to everybody on a solid first half of the Spring Season. Let’s get ready to kick off the second stanza in style, as we march towards the playoffs.

 

Before I forget, Happy Father’s Day to my pops, and all the other dads out there, especially the ones in FPF, who often have to balance life, work, kids, and finding the time to play a game that we all love. Enjoy your day!

 

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, feel free to reach me on Twitter @BADNEWSB51 or by e-mail at [email protected]